The invention relates generally to vehicle seating, and more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a one-piece seat back structure.
Vehicle seating typically includes a seat bottom and a seat back to support a driver or passenger. In certain seating configurations, both the seat bottom and seat back include a structural assembly having a rigid structure, cushions, and a fabric covering. Each structural assembly may also include various ancillary structures, such as a recliner mechanism and a headrest support, for example. The structural assemblies are configured to support the weight of the passenger during normal vehicle operation, and to manage loads transferred to the seat during an impact.
Certain seat back structures are constructed from metal formed components. For example, a seat back structure may include a left side member, a right side member, a top cross member, and a bottom cross member, each constructed via a metal forming process. The members may be coupled to one another, e.g., via bolted or welded connections, to form the complete seat back structure. Seat back structures may also be formed from a single sheet of metal. For example, the single sheet of metal may be formed into the seat back structure via multiple drawing processes. Unfortunately, when a seat back structure is formed using drawing processes, an excessive amount of material may be wasted, thereby increasing production costs. Furthermore, the precision of the drawing processes may be insufficient to establish the desired tolerances of the seat back structure features. As a result, the features may not properly align with other portions of the vehicle seating assembly. Due to the strain placed on the material during the drawing process, reshaping the features on the seat back structure may not be feasible.